Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference,
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent General
Conference talks. This is Abbey and Amy. Let's
jump into it. Happy Conference Sunday. Happy
Conference. We are so excited to soon kick off
our April 2025 session of General Conference
with you as we take a deep dive into the prophet's
world next Sunday, April 13th, also Palm Sunday.
But because we have this week to offer, we wanted
to give that to the Lord and ask what He wanted
of it. And the opportunity presented itself to
do one podcast on the happenings of the Holy
Week with our special guest again. adam hello
so amy and i are excited to to have him here
with us and when we we are assuming there's going
to be a multitude of offerings about the holy
week about things in preparation for easter and
we're so grateful for that we'll be diving into
a lot of them either other podcasts that i listen
to but because we have this opportunity it would
be a shame not to to take it if this is what
you're listening to and this helps you to get
a little bit closer to jesus christ this easter
season than before then we're happy to throw
this podcast out out into the world for sure
abby so bring many of you might have remembered
in april of 2023 elder stevenson gave the talk
that was entitled the greatest easter story ever
told and i really like how he talked about easter
you know he talks about first of all christmas
we all have our traditions we do the things and
it's a big deal in our families and he sort of
talked about why is easter not as big if it isn't
in your family And he even said, reminded us,
you know, the first presidency letter was set
out and we now have one hour of church on Easter,
which gives us more time with our family to reflect.
He said this, these words of the prophet Joseph
Smith add additional context to the significance
of the events surrounding Easter. And we've heard
this before. The fundamental principles of our
religion are the testimony of the apostles and
prophets concerning Jesus Christ, that he died.
was buried and rose again the third day and ascended
into heaven and all other things which pertain
to our religion are only appendages to it then
he talked about him and his wife lisa how they
discussed ways they might be able to incorporate
things more in their in their lives and it's
just this question so i'll just leave this it's
a great question for any family to ask How do
we model the teaching and celebration of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Easter story,
with the same balance, fullness, and rich tradition
of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Christmas story?
That's awesome. And this is really, it's really
hit home the last couple of years, especially.
Finding a need to, in our hearts, we know we
love the Easter story. We know that it is pivotal.
It's essential in our worship. We know. this
week is sacred above all else. But apparently
it's time to make sure that the world knows it
just as much as we know it in our hearts to be
more visible about what we can offer to him.
Have you made some changes in your home? You
know, I'm different every year. It depends on
what we're doing. But yes. And the other thing
is, when you're saying it's time to make it known,
for me, it's time to make it known to my younger
kids. We've done the things, but they're older
now. They were not sentient beings, as my daughter
calls them, the oldest. She's like, he was four,
mom. I'm like, yeah, you're right. So we're doing
the things again. I love doing the Easter egg
thing where there's a token in each of the days.
Just because it starts, it's not very much time
and it has a good, amount of time. Symbolically
brings you back. And then I do love doing a dinner
of some type together, like some Passover or
something. It's just fun. If I could go back,
I would have rephrased the question, what are
you doing in this season of your life? And that
answered exactly what I was hoping for. And we
have our children under the same roof and their
schedules are pretty easy to work around that.
But that's been a big one for us, a nice Passover
meal together and opportunities, more opportunities
to talk about our Savior. We've got little kids.
Of course, the bunny has been part of our story
and the baskets in a new Easter dress. But really
trying to separate that. It's a different day.
And really more emphasize on the freshness, the
renewal of life and what our Savior did for us.
So we've taken it seriously and it's made a difference
for our kids, I think. Yeah. So this is our offering
as not experts. Not experts. Just friends. and
disciples of Jesus Christ, and what we know and
believe of Him. And in my own personal life,
these are things that I ponder about every Sunday.
So it doesn't have to just be Easter Sunday,
but as we partake of the sacrament, we could
think of these things every Sunday throughout
the whole year, and just reflecting on the Savior's
life and what He's done for us. So I think that
probably the best place to start if you wanted
to look up places in the scriptures we go to
maybe exodus chapter 12 and let's start with
the um story of the uh children of israel being
in bondage and they are in bondage for 400 years
and they are looking for a deliverer to come
and deliver them and as we think of our own lives
personally each of us are in bondage and we need
we need a deliverer And that's a weekly thing
that we need as we go and partake of the sacrament.
So as we ponder these things, we can think about
Jesus Christ as our deliverer. Getting us out
of bondage every time that we allow Him to be
that person for us. Yeah, every time we allow
Him to step in and do that for us. So if you
think about the ten different plagues that...
the Lord allowed to happen to the Egyptians and
to soften Pharaoh's heart and to get things going,
it leads up to the last one. And even if we're
not familiar with the scriptures, we can think
of the Prince of Egypt, right? Absolutely. Get
that in our minds, right? Love that. It seemed
like each of the plagues were specifically designed
to kind of counteract like a false god that they'd
been worshipping. Correct. Pretty true? Yeah.
So, take us to the last one. So, we're on the
last one. And if we go to verse number three.
So, what the Lord had asked them to do is to
go out and to select a lamb on the tenth day.
And they take this lamb into their house and
they bond with it. And it is part of them. It's
without blemish. And it's in their house. For
four days. You can fall in love with a lamb in
four days. In four seconds, Amy. You can. So
that lamb is there with them. And as you've seen
in verse number five, as we said, without blemish,
it's a male of the first year. And then verse
number six, on the 14th day of the month, then
they take this and they offer that as a sacrifice.
Wow. And then we think about the last week of
the Savior's life. and you do the math not that
it necessarily might line up so we have palm
sunday and then here's the savior entering into
our lives and whether we accept him or reject
him however that works he's there he's there
and then on that fourth day he was offered as
the sacrifice and uh it goes to all these different
things so this is if you go down to verse number
eight They have unleavened bread because they
didn't have time to let the leaven rise. And
so they're using this unleavened bread and they
have the bitter herbs and all these different
things that are to be intended to point them
to the Savior. And that is something that they're
supposed to do, is do this in remembrance of
the bondage that they're in and the deliverance
that's going to come. So that kind of short,
brief introduction to something that the whole
world is very familiar with is the story of the
Exodus and Moses and being the deliverer and
helping the children of Israel. Then we come
down to the Savior's life, who is all of this
is pointing to him. So let's start with Palm
Sunday. And here comes the Savior, and he comes
riding. on a donkey that has never been ridden
you know it's a fresh colt and he comes riding
into town and everybody's expecting a messiah
or a deliverer and here he comes and all the
prophecies that have been laid up are pointing
to this event and here comes the savior so they
go and they get palm fronds off of the trees
and Part of the Jewish festivals is this represents
freedom. It's like us on the 4th of July lighting
off fireworks and saying, this is it. We are
going to be freed. And here comes the Savior
riding into Jerusalem. And everybody's yelling,
Hosanna. Which means, save us now or save now.
And they may have been looking for... A different
deliverer at this time? A military strategist.
Perhaps on a horse, armed with a sword, right?
Like to get it going. They were ready for the
Roman government to be annihilated. I'm sure
they were. And to be thrown down. So as he comes
triumphantly going through town, there's Anton
Fortress that is there that means, okay, we are
going to wipe out. the Roman government, and
then we have the house of the Lord or the temple
that is there. And Jesus goes to the temple.
And from that point, many people are like, oh,
this isn't the deliverer that we were looking
for. So as we think about our sacred temples
and as we dedicate a sacred temple, we do the
Hosanna Shout. And not that we have palm fronds,
but we have a little white hanky that we take
out. And in a somewhat reverent manner, but in
a very joyful reverence, as the house of the
Lord is dedicated, we all exclaim with joy, Hosanna,
Hosanna to God and the Lamb. I don't know about
you ladies, but as you think about the house
of the Lord and how the Lord saves us, as we
exclaim that joy, I just think about, as I go
through the temple and think about all the ordinances
and covenants that we make with God that saves
us, how exciting that is. Is there anything that
stands out to you too about that? The temple,
what makes you want to exclaim Hosanna because
of the house of the Lord? That I want to talk
about right now? Probably not. Wiping a tear.
But I'm just thinking my temple worship is affected
greatly when I think of all that my Savior's
done for me. And I'm just trying to kind of bottle
up those feelings in my heart about the Savior.
And I want them in the temple with me. I want
them out of the temple with me. To show my gratitude
for the things that he's done for me with that
temple worship. Really coming to. Amy and I finally
got to make a trip to the temple last week after
her month of misery. She was like, I'm feeling
better. I'm like, great. When are we going to
the temple? And she's like, I'm going tomorrow.
I'm like, I'm with you. That was my first thing.
Am I really ready to go out into society? I can
do the temple. But it makes a difference. We
had the place to ourselves pretty much. I also
think it's wonderful because so many of us have
things going on in our lives. we have a plan.
We know how things are going to, or I shouldn't
say that. We don't know how things can work out,
but we see what like needs to happen. So this
is going to happen. This is going to happen.
This is going to happen. And I love that, that
Jesus just came out and was like, I see you all.
That's wonderful. We're going to the temple.
And you're like, Oh yeah. Okay. So it just, I
don't know. Sometimes there's always a part of
me that's like, But this is the real stuff. This
is like the stuff that has to be done no matter
what. And he always brings in the spiritual and
he's like, this is the real stuff. So I just
have to remember always the balance because I'm
always asking what part is my part and what part
is his? Because if I just sat there and was like,
hey, you know, okay, Jesus, ride in on your donkey
and tell me everything I'm going to do. That
wouldn't be a balance either. I need to have,
you know, my own convictions, my own, like I
have, I'm doing this and my focus is, and then
just remember that. Whatever he says trumps mine
and they both work together. And that's how we
get through life is both of us equally yoked.
Perfect. So I think, I don't know if you're listening
and you want to put pause and just listen to
this one day at a time. That's Palm Sunday. You
can pause there. That's Palm Sunday. And you
can think about how. Yeah, let's call this action
item just so it's pretty clear. Like today's
action item is. Think about. How you are grateful
for the salvation that Jesus Christ brings. How
have you been freed from bondage by Jesus Christ?
Or how will you allow yourself to be? In Hebrew,
Jesus means God saves. And Christ also means
the anointed or the Messiah. So God saves. He
is the anointed one. And so it's Jesus the Christ.
He's just going to help us. And I hope that as
we think about this continuing going on through
this, that we can see how much the Lord really
wants to save us. So if you want to take it a
day at a time, this is the pause button. And
if you want to just get the week in your brain
to be thinking about it, we'll run to Monday.
So here we go. So to Monday, I say we can start
in Matthew chapter 21. Okay. So as we head to
Matthew chapter 21, we think about the Savior,
and he's going to cleanse the house of the Lord,
the Lord's temple. And on this day, the people
that were living around the Savior, this is where
they would take and they would cleanse their
house. And they would go through and they would
get all leavened substances and get it out because
of... remembering the Passover day and making
the unleavened bread. And they're just taking
all of the things that are impure and they're
just cleansing it. So the Savior goes into the
temple and he sees that everybody has to travel
to the temple and they all have to purchase an
animal to sacrifice. And there is set up inside
the temple money changers that are exchanging
money from, these areas that these people are
traveling into and they're transferring transferring
their money and it is thought that the the people
that are running the temple are making money
on the exchange on the exchange of these sacrifices
that are intended to point us to the ultimate
sacrifice so here's the savior he comes in and
some of us get a little uncomfortable with this
uh image that And John talks about the Savior
makes fashions a whip and kind of cracks it in
the air and demands that the people leave his
father's house. And as we look at verse number
12, and it says, It is written, my house shall
be called the house of prayer, but you have turned
it into a den of thieves. And so I love that
part. As he cleanses the temple, what are we
doing to cleanse our life? What are we doing
to take those things that are impure and unholy
and purging our inner vessel or our temple that
God has given to us? But then if we look at verse
number 14, after we get... the temple cleansed,
who shows up? Abby, will you read 14 there? I
will. It says, And the blind and the lame came
to him in the temple, and he healed them. So
he was turning it back into its original purpose,
to heal and to bless and to remove burdens and
making it the focal point of what it should have
intended to be. And so as we think about Monday,
What are we doing to cleanse our life and then
reach out and to bless and to heal? That's awesome.
And it's true. You do need to make room. for
it you just have all the same stuff in you that
you always have there's no more room for jesus
and for the things that he has to teach something
that was said had this very strong image of the
vessel and you empty out the bad and maybe there's
still some stuff left in there there was there
was plenty of good in you you just are emptying
out the things that can go the things that are
overburdening you the things that are of less
importance like Sorting your life out, letting
things rise to the top. Exactly. Letting things
sink to the bottom. They've already risen to
the top. They're probably just sitting there.
At that point, it's just time to acknowledge,
oh, I'm done with this. Give this to God, you
know, and then give me all the good. Make room.
It's a great suggestion. I love that. So that's
Monday. That's Monday. So we'll just reiterate
that. I can't wait for Monday. Deep cleaning.
So maybe you can have your kids clean their room.
I love that. Have your kids clean their room.
Have them clean the house. There's a lot of things
they can do. For a special guest. Yeah. To cleanse
the temple. Our house is a place we want to have
the Lord come. abode with us i'm loving this
i'm so here but so here for it okay so this is
another pause button or continue with us let's
hop into tuesday teaching tuesday so tuesday
yes sometimes we call it teaching tuesday so
again imagine the savior at the temple and then
here is where the savior teaches all sorts of
very familiar parables sermons that can take
place. So as we think about that, we can think
of the parable of the ten virgins. We can also
think about the parable of the sheep and the
goats. We can think of the parable of the talents.
The Savior is asked many questions on this day,
talking about the two great commandments. First
is to love the Lord thy God with all your heart,
mind, and strength. And the second is to love
your neighbor as yourself. And so these are very
familiar things that we talk about all the time
and ponder them. And the Savior is doing this
to help prepare the minds of the people. He's
bonding with them. That lamb that we just brought
into our house. And he is now bonding with his
people. And here we are on the, what is it, the
second day. Right. So do you guys have a favorite
story of the Savior that comes to your mind?
We've got the parable of the fig tree is another
thing that he did. I'm going to have you tell
us about the sheep and the goat. That literally
doesn't come to my mind. What's the story? It's
in Matthew 25, I think. I can reference. Yes,
25. Yeah, it is after the 10 virgins. I think
it must get overshadowed by the 10 virgins. And
the talents, yeah. Parable of the talents. I'm
pretty much obsessed with it. parable of the
10 versions. Yes. Because Amy and I were back
in the day, like over a year and a half ago when
we were first toying with the podcast thing.
For some reason, we landed on this parable. We
were only going to do like three episodes. Yeah.
Three episodes between conference sessions. And
he's like, that wasn't what I wanted. Okay, fine.
So we rethought it, but we did spend a lot of
time. We never aired it, but we spent a lot of
time on the parable and really gave me a chance
to say like, I like to consider myself a white,
you know, one of the wise virgins. But really,
in self -reflection, there's things that I do
that are foolish. And it just gives you an opportunity.
Like, where are you at in this season? What can
you do to be prepared, be that different person?
Like never patting myself on the back, like,
oh yeah, I'm in with him. It's a daily, it's
a constant struggle because of the challenges
of this world to consider yourself foolish or
wise. Like we're making so many different choices.
You're more familiar with the sheep than the
goats than you think you are. I'm sure I am.
The sheep are on his right hand side and the
goats are on his left. And then he talks about
him being naked. hungry, and it is said, when
saw we the naked and hungry? Okay, I've seen
this. And it says, inasmuch as you have done
one of the least of these, my brethren, you have
done it unto me. We know the scriptures, the
parable of the sheep and the goats, as the Savior's
telling that particular story that is there.
Perhaps you know it better by King Benjamin's
way of saying that. You know what I mean? You're
like, oh, I forgot that came from the sheath
and the goat. So Adam, as I was looking back,
the talents is one of my absolute favorite ones.
And what's interesting is I, for all of my life,
probably till, I don't know, till I was 40 something,
I totally felt like I was the person who didn't
get the talent. I got one measly one. And there
is a feeling about that of being like, do you
want to just hold on to that with all that you're
worth? Because that's all you have. There is
a scarcity mindset, I think, at the beginning.
Anyway, when I hit about 43 or 44, whatever.
I just decided to say, skip it. I'm going to
do my best with that talent, whatever it is.
It's not one that I necessarily chose, let's
say. Anyways, what I have learned, though, is
that, and especially just this last week, I have
been going through some things that I've been
really struggling with the Lord. When I look
back at the timetable, it's been eight years.
That's a long time. At like six years, I was
like, or at like five and a half, I was like,
okay, good, I'm done with this. Like, we're good.
And there was not much. And then two more years,
I worked really, really hard on it, but in different
ways. And then this past six months was like
the finishing thing. And I really was, I've been
going through this, you know, someone could call
it a sickness. I love how President Nelson talked
about when he hurt his ribs and he fell, he said,
as I've been healing. That's what I will say.
As I've been healing this past month, I was praying
about this specific thing. And again, I've been
praying for it for all of these years. So it's
not always on my mind because it's like, it's
just kind of in with everything else at this
point. But what I was really praying about was
my health right now. And anyway, at the end,
I was doing a prayer journal and I just, I'm
doing so much better. And I said, Heavenly Father,
this was the day we went to the Temple Abbey.
And I was fasting that day as well. And at the
end, I just prayed and said, Heavenly Father,
will you help me to see the ways that you have
healed me during this process in ways I don't
recognize yet? And he knows how to get my attention
because as I was prayer journaling, he just said,
be aware in the next few days, the Holy Ghost
will bring things to your knowledge and your
remembrance. And he knows for me, that means
like game on. Okay, like I'm ready for whatever
it is. Anyways. I was prayer journaling a little
bit later, and he literally said that this thing
that I've been working on for now eight years,
he said, you have mastered it. And the words
that came to my mind, I couldn't remember where
they were. But it was Matthew 25 was the Lord
said, well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Thou has been faithful over a few things, just
a few things. And I was like, wow, it feels big.
Like just those few things he's given me have
blessed my life in such a way. He's magnified
it, you know? And I know that this thing that
he says, and I love this part, is he said, thou
have been faithful over a few things. I will
make thee rule over many things. Enter thou into
the joy of the Lord. And in that one thing, I
have entered into the joy of the Lord, and I
opt in over and over for the other things He's
going to give me. Am I going to love Him at the
time? Probably not. Sometimes these, quote, talents
or whatever it is, it's a challenge and it's
a struggle, but we learn so much, and He magnifies
us through that. So just this week again, I loved
the parable of the talents again. So as you were
saying that, I was thinking about the Savior
teaching this in the temple. And as we enter
into the temple, he invites us into the celestial
room. And we get to experience the fullness of
joy, right? Totally. That is there. But as you
said, I feel like I have one talent. And as I
think about the Savior's Day, he's surrounded
by disciples as well as Pharisees and scribes.
And as he's telling this parable, can you envision
the Pharisees being like, Yeah, I've got a lot
of talents. They're counting them. Yeah, look
how awesome I am. But instead, they're the ones
that are burying it. They're not sharing this
goodness with others. And because of that, they
are now limited. And their talent is taken and
given to another that is going to take his gospel
and spread it to the world. So that is, I'd say,
Tuesday, whatever you guys want to talk about
on that, find a parable and talk about it with
your family members. We get to celebrate Easter
every year. So I'm thinking like just as a matter
of simplicity for me in the stage that I am,
you know, maybe we hit the parable of the 10
virgins. Maybe we hit the sheep and the goats
this year. Maybe we hit the talents. We don't
have to cover all of them, but we put a lot of
emphasis in something that the Savior taught.
We're in this week. And just one little side
thought. As you were talking, I was thinking,
when I recommend myself to the temple, and I
hold that recommend, that's all I have to offer
at the door. And I go in, and then what he does
with my desire and willingness to enter his holy
house, the covenants, the blessings that pour
out with the covenants that we make, he does
a lot with that wonderful talent. Okay, so that's
Tuesday. Okay, so find something to teach. Love
it. Focus on one of the parables. For yourself,
for your family. Yes. So, pause for, join us
on Wednesday. Here we go, Wednesday. Is there
a cute name for Wednesday? Some of the, of our
Christian brothers and sisters, they call it
Spy Wednesday, I guess. Will you talk a little
more and then we'll decide if we agree. Well,
there's not a lot that the scriptures say on
this day. Definitely the Savior is going about
doing good, but it's nothing that a scholar will
be like, this event took place on this day. And
so some people will say this is the day that
Judas is going around and seeking to betray the
Son of God. So they call it Spy Wednesday. Interesting.
But if he's betraying the Savior, I think maybe
we should think about what can we do to bless.
and help and heal and bring people closer to
christ and um so there's two two accounts in
the scriptures where there is a woman anointing
uh the savior with some very expensive oil and
as you think of this you take us there yeah so
matthew 26 okay so as we we go to matthew 26
and uh here is this woman And at this particular
time in the world's history, women were not very
highly valued or treasured like they are today,
at least in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
-day Saints. They were thought of as just they're
there, they're the servant. And I think this
part is beautiful because we have a woman. And
we have Matthew and John telling a story of a
woman coming and anointing the Savior. And as
you think about that, that is something that
in maybe the Jewish culture is done by the great
high priest, which represents Jesus Christ. And
as we think about our own personal experience,
if you've been through the temple, the first
thing the Lord does for you is he anoints you.
And he helps to bring you to a higher plane because
he wants to help you become a king or a queen
in his temple. And so here's the woman, and she
comes with this expensive oil. And we start in
verse number six, so Matthew 26, verse six. Amy,
you want to read down to verse seven, six and
seven? Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house
of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman
having an alabaster box of very precious ointment
and poured it onto his head as he sat at meat.
And so we can think about her as saying, this
is the Messiah. Not the Messiah in the sense
that he's going to overthrow the Roman government,
but he is the one that is going to save her.
When we get to the burial of the Savior, what
they would do is they would put on all sorts
of ointments and anointing them and trying to
make that body smell as best as it could. So
it was a very, very expensive thing that is happening
here. And she is looking forward to his ultimate
saving of her and her own personal resurrection.
as it goes on to verse number eight, but then
his disciples saw it and had indignation saying,
to what purpose is this waste? And for this ointment
might have been sold for much and given to the
poor. And when Jesus understood it, he said unto
them, why trouble ye the woman? For she hath
wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the
poor always with you, but me ye have not always.
For in that she hath poured this ointment on
my body, she did it in my burial. And I just
think that is just so beautiful to have a woman
understanding what true connection the Savior
really is for each and every one of us. And he's
going to be resurrected. And we can, you know,
from President Oaks inviting us again this year.
on Easter Sunday to say, He is risen. And this
comes from a woman that does this. I think it's
a beautiful thing to think about on Wednesday.
Women Wednesday. Women Wednesday. That's great.
I love it. So what can we do to bless and heal
on Wednesday? Yes. You know, I came across a
quote this week that really stuck out to me.
And it has to do with this. You know, whenever
I think of like different ways that I can serve
Jesus, you know, one of them is to withhold judgment
and to offer grace in all situations. And I love
this. It says, Jesus demonstrated how to sit
at tables with those who would betray us and
also maintain our composure. And our character.
So I think that just goes back to we're always
children of God. We always stand with him regardless
of how others treat us. And sometimes that's
the best way we can honor him. Well -wishing
Wednesday. Take whatever works for you. Use your
freedom. Okay, so now we're to Thursday. And
Thursday would have been... I mean, there's some
discrepancy here, but... Because? So John says
that he has maybe a different timeline, but I'm
not here to squabble over the timeline. I'm here
to think... What can we do to make this... Now
we've had the lamb in our house. This is the
fourth day. And here we are coming to Passover.
Some people call it Monday, Thursday. And so
here we are to the culmination of the deliverer
and putting the blood that we caught from the
basin of the lamb that was offered as a sacrifice
in our house and putting the hyssop in the blood
and then going out and putting it on the doorpost
and the lintel going across the top there. and
wanting the blood of jesus christ to completely
cover us through his atonement or to kafar or
completely cover us is what the savior wants
us to think of on this day so here they are having
an upper room experience and they are there and
all of the the meal is set and There's the bread,
there's the wine, there's the bitter herbs from
the bondage that they are in. And the Savior
comes in and has a Passover meal with them. But
this is the beautiful part where he takes and
makes the New Testament. Where he takes the unleavened
bread and he breaks it. And he gives it to them
and says, this is my body, take, eat in remembrance
of me. And then he takes the wine that is there
and blesses it and gives it to us. And this is
a remembrance of my blood. And something that
we are all incredibly familiar with when it comes
to the sacrament, where every Sunday we're having
a Passover meal with the Savior. And it's a beautiful
thing to think of, especially if you were in
the ancient world, if you were at war with somebody.
And if you brought them into your house and you
had a meal with them, that means that he's at
peace with you. And so every Sunday, the Savior
invites us into his house, and he says, I'm at
peace with you. We're going to have a meal together
today, and we're going to take the sacrament.
I love that. That's wonderful. And so there's
the sacrament, and then he washes his disciples'
feet. And then, oh, sorry, he washes his disciple
feet first and then after that. So then Judas
goes to betray the Savior, and then they carry
on with the night from that point on. And so
a beautiful thing that they do here is they,
as this all ends, Verse number 30. So Matthew
26, verse 30. The Savior asked them and they
all sing a hymn together. And music is powerful.
And then they head out to the Garden of Gethsemane.
See, ladies, have any questions you want to ask
about that first part or any comments you'd like
to make there on the Feast of the Passover and
the sacrament? Is that it on Thursday? No, we're
still on Thursday. He's going into the next part.
The next part of Thursday. No, just a thought
when you're talking about Gafar and just thoughts
back to the temple garment and the covering.
But maybe just a brief action item here would
be just to reflect on the Savior covering us
in our lives or maybe reissue the challenge to
make our sacrament. time more meaningful because
again it isn't just a week of our lives this
is something that we can daily consider and weekly
consider as we remember the sacrament yeah if
nothing more all the things you're sharing because
you have like tidbits of of um you know the time
and the culture and all these things it just
brings to my remembrance more and more that The
Church of Jesus Christ that he instituted is
not much different than the Church of Jesus Christ
that we live now. They have different words.
We do it in different ways. But the symbolism
is so rich. And we live that every day. Like
you said, the kaphar, the lamb, the blood. We're
wearing our garments every day. We are covered
every day in this covenant that we've made with
Jesus Christ. So I just, I feel like it's tying
all these sweet little ribbons in my mind. Always
remember me. And the opportunity is always there
for us to do it. But if we don't take a moment
and reflect on the many ways that we can make
him part of our daily life, then it is just the
thing we do. We don't know why we do it. It's
just the way that we've done it. We want to emphasize
the why, make it important to us. So they sing
a hymn, then they go up the Kidron Valley and
head up to the place that we call Gethsemane.
In Hebrew, geth means to press, or gath means
to press, and shem means oil. So it's a big old
oil press that they head up to. And I like to
read at this point John chapter 17. And this
is the intercessory prayer of the Savior. And
if you wanted to turn there and just read this
whole chapter. But he gathers all of his disciples
out of this Gethsemane and he prays for them
that they may be one as he and the Father are
one. And then he prays for all of us that we
all may be one together. in this oneness as he
enters into the the garden of gethsemane and
then he tells his disciples to wait he takes
peter james and john and he goes in a little
bit deeper into the the garden of the gethsemane
and then he offers them to uh wait at that point
and then the savior goes even deeper into the
garden of gethsemane and if you if you think
about this so he's he is uh The Mount of Olives
is facing, and you can look at the temple, the
Temple Mount. And as we make that progression
in the temple, and we go through all of the different
things that happened anciently in the rituals
of the washing, going into the holy place where
there's the table of showbread, the altar of
incense, and the menorah that is lit representing
his presence. And then he goes into the Holy
of Holies. You think of these three progressions
that the Lord is making, where he leaves his
disciples in the Gethsemane, then he goes into
the holy place, leaves Peter, James, and John.
And then he, the great high priest, goes in and
offers atonement on the mercy seat. And as he
is there, he is where we start to think about
all of the sins, infirmities. trials, tribulations,
and if you think about that, to be pressed, and
the oil press, the weight of all of His creations
are pressing down on Him at this moment. And
if you were to take our sacrament hymn that we
sing, and you have the The young holder of the
Aaronic Priesthood is up there, and he takes
the bread, a whole piece of bread, and then he
takes it and he breaks it in his hand as we're
singing the hymn that says, bruised, broken,
torn for us on Calvary's Hill. What they would
do is they'd take the olives and they'd put it
in this press and they would break them up and
mash them up and then they'd put it in this bag
and they'd put it under the press. And then the
olives of the first press that would come off
of that would be red, kind of brown, bitter water
that would come off. And so there's the Savior,
the weight is just pressing down on him as he
begins to bleed from every pore. on our behalf.
And then we all know he comes out and his disciples
are sleeping and he says to them, could you not
watch with me one hour? And I love that sacrament
meeting is one hour. Could you not watch with
me one hour? Could you hang with me for one hour?
And then he goes back in and he suffers more
and he does that three times. And then he says
to his disciples, the last time to sleep on.
And then they come out of the Garden of Gethsemane.
And who was there? But all of the Sanhedrin and
the people that are there to betray him. And
here comes Judas and betrays him with a kiss.
They come to bind the Savior, and Peter is all
sorts of amped up at this moment, ready to fight.
They come to bind the Savior, and Peter cuts
off the guy's ear, right? And then the Savior
reaches up and heals him and says, in essence,
could I not call down a legion of angels right
now and stop this whole thing? And the Savior
says, I need to be about my Father's business.
This needs to take place. And we can go to President
Holland's talk, Whom Seek Ye. I don't know the
title of it off the top of my head, but the Savior
asked, Whom Seek Ye? And then they said, Jesus
of Nazareth. And the Savior says, I am He. It's
called I Am He, and it was in this conference
talk like three talks ago. Yeah, I Am He, and
every one of them falls on the ground. Back up,
yeah. The power that came from that, I Am He.
Amy and I talked about how we love when we hear
those words, I Am He, that we would fall forward
at His knees. Yeah, I Am the Great I Am. And
they knew that He's saying a sacred name that
is not supposed to be said. But with power, they
felt it. whether they understood that what he
was saying or if they thought that he was just
being blasphemous and they're falling to the
ground because they hear yahweh i don't know
which one it is but i like to think of them feeling
of the power of the great i am there and so that's
uh early friday morning the sun hasn't quite
risen uh so that our jewish brothers and sisters
follow the time of day at this time they would
start At sunrise would be Friday for them. Sorry,
when the sun went down on Thursday, it was Friday
for them. So for us, it would be Thursday. But
Friday morning now is he's taken to Pilate and
he's taken to Caiaphas. So we're on Friday now.
Yeah, we're still on Friday. I don't know if
I'm going to stop on Thursday. Thursday has a
lot in it because that's your Passover meal if
you're doing it. You know what I mean? There's
a lot of things in there. Yeah, that's a good
pause. What action item do you want to give your
friends here? I felt like I kind of stopped you
before you took us into the garden because I
knew that was going to get heavy for me, but
just really feeling like an emphasis on magnifying
our time in the sacrament, magnifying the opportunities
to think of our Savior during the week. And just
one thought that came to me when you said the
Savior says, I'm about my Father's work. That's
us. We are the work. it is to fulfill that covenant
is the time has come and we're anxiously watching
that I think and anticipating what he said that
he would do and the time has come so it's like
it's the weirdest emotion because it's like so
joyous because we know how it ends but it's like
he had a mother that had to watch this happen
too and that's so sad and he also had We could
think of the angel coming and comforting him,
you know, in Luke that we read, that he bled
from every pore. And as we just studied section
19 of the Doctrine and Covenants, maybe you can
go read again section 19 and think about the
Savior testifying in his own words what happened
to him in Gethsemane that caused him, even God,
the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain,
to bleed at every pore. To suffer both body and
spirit, right? It's true. That's the only first
-hand account we have. Yeah, from him. Section
19. So you can go study that. Or you can think
about what can you do to comfort somebody else
that's having a burden or a trial of some kind.
What can you do to be that angel to comfort somebody?
Perfect. I love those thoughts. So there it is.
So now we're on Friday. Yeah, Friday. It's a
heavy week. Holy week. Yes. I mean, there's a
lot I'm going through. I've already cried through
every day. We're on Friday. We all know that
it ramps up from here. So this is called Good
Friday. And every time you say Good Friday, someone
said, how could this be good? And there's a song
that is so beautiful. I don't know the artist's
name, but he says, Friday's good. because Sunday's
coming. You know, Friday's a heavy day, and it's
good that the Savior allowed this to take place,
or else... What would be the point? Yeah. In
the way that he saw that it was good, not it
was a good, great thing. So here's the irony
of Pilate and Caiaphas. So Caiaphas represents
the great high priest, The great high priest
has to take every sacrifice that is being offered
and declare it, like we just read in Exodus chapter
12. He declares it clean, without blemish, firstborn
male. He goes through all the different things.
And here comes the Savior before Caiaphas, the
true clean sacrifice. He recommended himself.
He didn't need stinking Caiaphas to do it. He
is the great high priest, right? Yes. And here's
Caiaphas saying, this isn't the son of God. We
need to crucify him, get rid of him, and then
takes him to Pilate. And we could go through
a ton of stories here. Pilate, in order for the
custom of the people, he takes Barabbas, which
means the Barabbas means son of the father. And
we have Barabbas, who is a thief and an insurrectionist
on one hand. And then we have Barabbas or Jesus
Christ, who is the literal son of the father
that is taken before them and offered. Barabbas
is allowed to go free as a scapegoat. And again,
we can think here, I am Barabbas. I am so flawed.
I never had any right to be saved and freed from
this, but Jesus Christ made that possible. He
would have wanted Barabbas to be freed too. That
wasn't an accident that it happened that way.
And so Barabbas is freed, and then the people
cry out to crucify the Savior. And as part of
crucifixion that comes, then that comes with
the whipping and the scourging that take place.
Spend a lot of time on that, but just to know
that this was not a very pleasurable experience.
Most people would have died from that, even just
this portion. And knowing that the Savior had
just spent all night bleeding from every pore
and saying to his Father, if it be possible to
remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my
will, but thine be done. he continued to drink
and i i think that we as members of the church
of jesus christ of latter -day saints we sometimes
don't ponder enough on good friday we think that
the the suffering took place on thursday and
the garden of gethsemane is done but here is
the savior he's still drinking from this bitter
cup right now And as he's being whipped, and
if you go to Leviticus, one of the things they
would do with the sacrifices before they'd offer
it as a sacrifice, they'd take and they would
fillet off the flesh. And here is the Savior
having his flesh being taken with a whip and
being ripped off of his back as the ultimate
sacrifice. And then in a very mocking way, having
a crown of thorns placed upon his head. And then
I can imagine the Savior is just... physically
worn out at this point. They take and they make
him pack his cross to Golgotha's Hill. And then
they find Simon to pack his cross the rest of
the way as they get up there. And then we can
think of the nails. driven through his hands
and his wrists and his feet and placed upon the
cross for you and for me. And as he's placed
on the cross, we can think that it's pretty early
in the morning, probably about seven in the morning
or eight o 'clock in the morning. And then the
Savior hung on the cross from that point until
his final word. It was about three o 'clock in
the afternoon when the Savior said, it is finished.
And I like to think with that phrase that he
finished that last little part of the bitter
cup. And he could say, I completed this bitter
cup. We can go to 3 Nephi chapter 11. When the
Savior comes to the Americas, he said, I drunk
out of that bitter cup for you. We can go to
Doctrine and Covenants section 19 when he talks
about the bitter cup that he had to drink. And
here it is. It's finished. And then no one could
take the Savior's life. But he said, Father,
into thy hands, I commend my spirit. I, with
my agency, commend my spirit. And then he gave
up the ghost. On this Good Friday, we could go
look up the seven final statements that the Savior
gives on the cross and think about them and ponder
them and have them in our life. So there's Good
Friday in a very abbreviated form. So to reiterate
the last words of Christ, if you want to use
this as your action item to study them. The references
are Luke 23, 34. He says, Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do. Luke 23, 43 says,
Verily I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with
me in paradise. John 19, 26 -27 says, Woman,
behold thy son, behold thy mother. Then we have
Matthew 27, 46. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? John 19, 28, he said, I thirst.
Luke 23, 46 says, Father, into the hands I commend
my spirit. And John 19, 30, it is finished. Okay,
so that is Friday. Good Friday, they say. Hey,
remember, Friday's good because Sunday's coming.
Let's start with the end of that day. So when
the sun goes down, it is going to be Saturday
or Shabbat. And they don't want to break the
Sabbath. So they are racing as fast as they can.
And the disciples go and they beg Pilate to allow
them to take the body of the Savior because he
would have been buried in a mass grave. And Joseph
of Arimathea gives his tomb. to the Savior. Good
choice. That's why I better use it. They take
the Savior. He didn't need it for long. And if
you think of the, at the birth of the Savior,
we have the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And
so they take the Savior's body and they are trying
their best to make reverence of the body. our
father in heaven has given to us same oils are
used for sure so meaning that the wise men knew
like in the gift they were like we know that
you're the savior you're going to need these
sure i'm not i'm not saying so they put on uh
this i have to go look at the scriptures but
it's like tons it's super expensive amount of
stuff to help prepare the savior's body and then
they race before the sun goes down close the
tomb And they're thinking, we're coming back
Sunday morning to finish the preparations. And
so maybe we could talk about Saturday. And our
understanding, because of the restored gospel
of Jesus Christ, of what the Savior was doing,
is so unique and amazing. So on Saturday, the
Savior was in paradise. And he was setting up
the ministry of taking his restored gospel to
all those that have been there in prison since
the world began. And this great ministry and
act of mercy and grace has been taken to all
of our ancestors that have not had a chance to
receive the gospel. And it will be taught to
them in their fullness and their understanding.
And they'll have an opportunity to use their
agency to accept it and or reject it. And what
a beautiful thing about on Saturday that the
Savior is still about doing good. As his body
is laid in the tomb, in his spirit, he is there
preparing such a beautiful place for us all.
So maybe a scripture you can read. It's Dr. Covenant
section 130. 8. You can read that section. You
can go to 1 Peter 3 and chapter 4 in 1 Peter.
You can read about our understanding of what
the Savior was doing to go and preach the gospel
to those that had died. Maybe that would be two
good things to study on Saturday. I love it because
what you're saying is we know it's the interim
time between laying down his body and picking
it back up. because of these restored works and
having the Doctrine and Covenants. So much was
done. Wow. Organizing all of that, right? So
you could do family history. You can index names.
You can go to the temple and go to do a session,
take your kids to do some baptisms. I think any
time spent in the temple would be well worth
it. At the temple grounds, if they're that age,
in the temple, if they can be. So that is Saturday.
So here we are on Sunday morning. So you can
imagine all of his disciples, all the Marys,
the Marthas there. All of them. Just waiting
for the sun to come up so they wouldn't be breaking
the Sabbath day to race to the tomb to finalize
the burial of the Savior. And totally anticipating
his body being taken and abused. more they didn't
want that of all things stolen that and also
pilate put two roman guards there to guard the
door of the temple i mean of the tomb we call
it temple yeah to guard the door of the tomb
to make sure that no one did mess with the body
so they couldn't say oh look it's gone oh he's
resurrected so they put two roman guards there
and here comes the angel and knocks open the
door, and here's the Roman soldiers there that
are just, holy cow. We were on the wrong side
of this one. But they did come and tell what
happened, and they told them, tell everybody
that you fell asleep on watch, which would have
been immediate death penalty for these Roman
guards. They would have been put to death because
they fell asleep while on their watch. And so
that's what they told everybody. They fell asleep.
Someone came and stole the body. But we know
the truth is that the Savior was risen. And here
comes the disciples up and the two angels are
sitting there and Mary just beside herself saying,
tell me where you have taken him so that I can
finish what I was supposed to do. The phrase
is, he is not here, for he is risen. And that
is where we would say he is risen. And so if
you go to John chapter 20, and we come down,
Mary is there in verse number 15. And Jesus saith
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest
thou? And she, supposing him to be the gardener,
saith unto him, Sir, if thou hath borne him hence,
tell me where, that thou hast laid him, and I
will take him away. And Jesus saith unto her,
Mary. And she turned, and saith unto him, Rabboni,
which is to say, Master. And Jesus saith unto
her, Touch me not. For I am not yet ascended
unto my Father, but I go to my Father, unto my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father and your Father, and to my God and your
God. And then Mary Magdalene went and told the
disciples. But I love that verse 17 there in
this beautiful imagery that is placed in my mind.
If you read the Joseph Smith translation there
when it says, Touch me not, it really should
say, Hold me now. Mary, you've got to stop hugging
me. You know, I just love that image. She's just
like so grateful and excited that he is alive.
And no one has ever seen this. And that someone
would die and then three days later be resurrected
is an unheard of thing. if we go back to the
saturday before palm sunday the the event that
started this all off is lazarus laid in the tomb
for four days and the savior brought him back
from the dead uh to show his power and here is
uh three days later the the angel says is there
and here's the savior testifying to mary and
to all that i am risen and so One thing that
I have been thinking about is because Jesus Christ
is resurrected, maybe we could ponder, what does
that mean for my resurrection? What does that
mean for me personally? And yes, ponder the Savior's
resurrection, but also be thinking about, tell
me about your resurrection. What is that going
to be like on that day for you? Because if the
Savior is risen, we will be risen too. Just to
clarify, you were saying Lazarus was raised from
the dead, Jesus Christ was resurrected. And so
here's something kind of just a little tidbit
of knowledge that on this day in the temple at
Jesus' time, they would offer up the first fruit
offering. And here is, as we go to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, Jesus Christ is the first fruit of
those that slept. And he was brought back from
the dead, the first to being raised from the
dead in the morning of the first resurrection.
And because he has been risen, now we're still
in that first morning, all the way up to the
glorious second coming and entering into the
millennium. But as we think about our journey
through the temple, it is testifying to us of
the Savior's resurrection. And as we pass through
that veil to head into the slasher room, that
is what the Savior wants us to think about is
our resurrection. Having been true and faithful,
well done now, good and faithful servant, right?
And to be resurrected. So that ends our holy
week thought of the Savior and his amazing mortal
ministry. Everything points. to this Friday's
good because Sunday's coming and he's risen.
Sunday came. It's here. So wonderful. I love
that. I just love that all of that is possible.
Like us going to the temple, us having these
experiences is all possible because he rent the
veil. That's how we're able to get, you know
what I mean? It just, again, so much symbolism
and it brings so much happiness to my heart.
Yes. So grateful. And as you brought that up,
he rent the veil when he said, it is finished.
The veil physically rent from top to bottom.
I so want to see a replay of that. And here is
the great high priest went into the Holy Holies
and allowed all of us to enter into the Holy
Holies. And you made the point that the idea
of the spirit will turn. didn't exist. It was
all waiting for that moment in time to happen.
For 2 ,000 years. That's why he's so busy Saturday
organizing the teaching of his gospel. Sure.
And even since, if you go read Peter, from Noah,
from Adam, they've been waiting there in prison.
And they are just waiting for this good news
to come. And can you imagine as soon as the Savior
is there, then those that are the ministers that
are going out to take the gospel of jesus christ
to them what that looked like in the spirit world
so amazing there'll be lots of opportunities
and good things to be spending your time focusing
on during holy week and you know sometimes we
can make it complicated we can overwork ourselves
but really the whole point is you know what pieces
and parts are going to work for you to draw you
closer to our savior do you want to spend some
time reflecting on your testimony looking at
the living christ jotting your thoughts down
um you know making an action plan for what the
sacrament you want to look like for you you know
thinking about your covenants during the week
there are little you know stories you can bring
up to the forefront your kids can hear from you
what can we do to testify more of our savior
jesus christ to proclaim this good news to the
world i think there's a lot that we can do don't
want you to feel overwhelmed by that that you
let slip by without doing. Just take what you
can and do good with it. And there's always more
times later. And the invitation from President
Oaks, as you saw on social media, he said, on
this Easter Sunday, many of our Christian brothers
and sisters greet each other and they say, he
is risen. And that's how they, and he said, you
could possibly do that. So as we go to church
on Sunday. We can just say he's risen. Love it.
Love it. And on your social media posts. Yeah,
he's risen. Let's trend that. All right. We love
you guys. Thank you for being with us. Thank
you so much, Adam. You were fantastic. Come again.